You throw the ball. You catch the ball. You hit the ball…Of course, baseball fans know that this line from Bull Durham is far from true, part of the humor of the movie and a huge part of the fun of the game. This blog is a space to talk about baseball, being a baseball fan, all of those things that make the game fun and the Angels, because they make baseball fun for me.

A Little Excitement Before the Regular Season Begins

So, everyone’s getting really excited about the first Regular Season games starting in just a few hours, right? I mean, we’re all getting up extra early, with elaborate brunch, beer and calling in late to work plans so we can watch the games, right? *crickets* Yeah, that about sums it up. While I like the idea of exhibition games in Japan and other countries, I think that having the Mariners and A’s play two regular season games there is just ho hum. The timing will always be awkward, both in terms of fitting the games into the Regular Season calendar and in terms of the games themselves taking place at a time when the teams’ U.S. fans can easily watch. For this reason, I doubt MLB will ever get teams that are predicted to contend to participate and so what we’re left with is just blah. Two games stuck in a weird sort of baseball limbo. They count towards the regular season record, so they’re not quite exhibition games. But most folks aren’t paying any attention and the games are occurring completely outside the Regular Season calendar, well before the official Opening Day on April 4th, so it’s almost as if they aren’t really Regular Season games either, leaving me for one wondering, Why bother?

I’ll tell you what is exciting though, Magic Johnson buying the Dodgers. Ding Dong, the McCourts are gone. The wicked McCourts are gone! Yes, I root for the Halo’d ones down in Anaheim, but I’m an L.A. girl raised going to games in Chavez Ravine by a Dodger lovin’ family. As long as we aren’t specifically in the middle of a Freeway Series, I will always have a soft spot for the boys in blue. Besides, I like to think that baseball fans everywhere were rooting for the Dodgers to come out on top of all this – Come on Giants fan cousins of mine, you know you were rooting for them too…come on. Hey. That’s not the gesture you really want to be making. Seriously, knock that off right now or I’m telling your mom. See, that’s much better. Don’t you feel better now? Ummm…never mind.😉

Anyway, moving right along…Magic Johnson is a shrewd businessman who has managed to create businesses that are simultaneously good for the community, good for local sports and entertainment, and also profitable. And for those of you who don’t have a lot of experience with business and politics in L.A., trust me, that’s no easy feat. Plus, Magic Johnson has been an L.A. guy by choice since his retirement. I see him as the kind of owner who will cultivate a good team on the field (and it’s not like he doesn’t have plenty of good players to work with already), while pleasing fans and leaving the important traditions intact. At least, this is what I hope will happen…even though I still hope they lose every single Freeway Series game. Hey, Dodgers soft spot, Angels heart. My goodwill is extensive, but not boundless.😉

Which brings me to news even more exciting than that: Kendrys is hitting over .600 since his Spring Training debut and continues to see regular playing time, and I saw my first lit Halo of 2012 driving through Anaheim the other night. Okay, so it’s only a lit exhibition Halo, but still. Lit. Halo! The Regular Season – the real Regular Season – is so close I can taste it!

The Halo on the Big A shines into the March 2012 evening, announcing a Spring Training victory! Yes, I took this photo through the none too clean windshield of our moving vehicle. No, I wasn't the one driving.😉 Photo by This is a Very Simple Game...

10 Comments

This is a big day for the Dodgers and it’s fans. The embarrassment Frank McCourt brought to this team was a lot and now the future is very bright. With this The Dodgers and your Angels will alone shift the Power Balance to the Pacific! Magic and group know what to do to field a Championship Ballclub.

SOOOOOO happy for L.A. right now. They deserve some competence behind the scenes. They could learn a lot from Los Anaheim! And if Kendrys is back to his old self, well, I say that’s a pretty good indication that the 2012 season is the Angels’ oyster.
–Jeff

Yeah, I think this will be a very good thing for the Dodgers and for So Cal baseball in general, Jeff. Time to steal attention back from the NBA! I think Kendrys is back to his old self at the plate or pretty close to it, which should be good enough. I don’t think we’ll need to him in the field too much. I hear that new first baseman Dipoto landed is supposed to be pretty good.😉

Working midnights, I was awake this morning for the game, but slept right through most of it. I guess it gave my something else to sleep through other than Match Game! Good for the Dodgers that Magic is taking over. He’s still a big name here in Michgian, too. One of the few things that Sparty has to be proud of!
–Mike

It is a bit of a bummer, Mike. The poor kid got the flu so bad that he missed most of Spring Training and lost something like 10 pounds. I suspect that we will see him back up again well before September callups, but it sounds like right now just isn’t his time yet.

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